Can a standard chicken hatch bantam eggs?

[ScoobyRoo]

I have another broody hen. Our new banty has just started laying over a week ago. I have considered putting the banty eggs under the standard size chicken. I don't think she would break the eggs. The reason being is that the banty has been laying eggs in the same nest with the bigger chickens and they have not broke yet. I just wondered if there was any other reason why this would not work. Except after they hatch will the mama be too heavy and squash them? I know banties can hatch standard eggs but what about the other way around? Anybody done this before?

btw, even though it is harder to see if they are fertile or not (we cracked open an egg to check), I do have a banty roo and I have seen them do 'the deed'.

 

[crazy chook]

Yes, you most certainly can. My large australorp hen hatched out 12 bantam chicks. I could have fit 15-20 under her but 12 was all I had!

 

[pgpoultry]

A broody will hatch just about any eggs, chicken, goose, turkey, quail....and even try to hatch stones and golf balls. Your hen will not break the eggs,

Good Luck,

Sandie

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Thanks for the replies. As I mentioned in the first post, I know the eggs are strong enough since the banty has been laying in the same nest with the 'big' girls and they have not broken any. I was a little concerned that once they hatched and being so small if the hen would be too heavy and smash them? My broody hen is a LH/BO mix. I would gauge her as a med size chicken. If my DD can sweet talk her Daddy into letting her sticks some eggs under her, we will do it. I just had another broody hatch 2 out of 4 yesterday. Will see if the other two have hatched. Don't really need anymore chicks, but how do we stop?

 

[RoosterHuggerLiz]

Thanks for the replies. As I mentioned in the first post, I know the eggs are strong enough since the banty has been laying in the same nest with the 'big' girls and they have not broken any. I was a little concerned that once they hatched and being so small if the hen would be too heavy and smash them? My broody hen is a LH/BO mix. I would gauge her as a med size chicken. If my DD can sweet talk her Daddy into letting her sticks some eggs under her, we will do it. I just had another broody hatch 2 out of 4 yesterday. Will see if the other two have hatched. Don't really need anymore chicks, but how do we stop?

Hen fever is like an addiction my friend, be careful- what I usually do is, I don't want to break their broody instinct just in case I ever want a hatch anymore chicks so the ones that I like to keep going broody, my bantam cochens, I allow them to hatch a clutch whenever they do go broody but what I do is I switch out most of the eggs for golf balls so that they'll only hatch one or two chicks, they go broody ever 3 months or so but I have people who buy my bantom coaching chicks because they make great household pets due to their parents having such soft and sweet temperaments

My only worry Is that standards sit on their nests longer and I've known standard mothers to actually pack at her chicks when they born and hatched to early the mothers are confused and don't think that they're their chicks. What I like to do is even if Mama is broody I'll collect her clutch and put them in a room temperature area in a safe spot so that once they're enough for a clutch I'll put her in my brooder and give them back to her so that incubation can start at the same time